Athletics of To-Day 1929

I - -- --------- Athletics of To-day drawing a bad lane and of being overawed by the greatness of the final issue. Towards the end of I928 Cambridge discovered a very fine tt rough" hurdler in the Shrewsbury Freshman, R. M. N. Tisdall, who hails from Ireland. In his trials he returned IS! secs. for the High Hurdles, and went within two-fifths of a second of British record in the Low Hurdles. He was then entirely without style, but, if he can be taught to step over his fences with a straight leg, I think he will prove, probably, the fastest hurdler Great Britain or any country has yet produced. It is significant of the improvement that has taken place in High Hurdling during the last twenty years that at Amsterdam in I928 only three out of the nine heat winners failed to equal or beat IS secs., while two semi-finalists returned I4t secs., and the other I4f secs. for a new world's and Olympic record, and in thirteen races IS secs., the world's and Olympic record in I908, was beaten five times and equalled five times. At the London Olympiad in I908 only four men succeeded in beating I6 secs. by one-fifth of a second in the fourteen elim– inating heats. The four semi-final heats were won in ISf secs. (tying the previous Olympic record), ISf, IS and I6l secs. All the finalists were Americans and Forrest Smithson won in the then world's and Olympic record time of IS secs. fiat. In Great Britain, meanwhile, no sort of hurdle coaching was available in pre-War days. At the schools ten flights of hurdles were set up a week or so before the sports, and the boys just jumped them or took them in the old bent-leg style, of which, possibly, they had seen pictures. Some succeeded despite a bad style. f these may b mentioned the late Kenneth ow 11, ugby and .U.A.. , whose Oxford and ambridge r cord of IS} secs. stood from I907 until Lord Burgh! y, another brilliant ambridge hurdler and a far better styli t, returned IS .. secs. in I926. There was also P. R.O' . Phillips, Highgate and .U.A. . ; in I9IO he set the Public chools record at I6! secs. and in I9II took the Inter-University ev nt and the A.A.A. hampionship, both in I6i secs. Phillips's ublic chools record stood until I928, in which year G. Dyas,